People get ripped off on over graded coins all the time on ebay. I guess I'm lucky. I always get the undergraded coins. I bought a walking liberty half on ebay that had a blurry scanned photo, I paid $4. When it arrived it was a blastwhite, awesome luster, ms64 bute. I've also got a ms63/64 1883 V nickel for $25 that had a bad pic. I'm just lucky. I'll get some pics up.
You can get decent coins on eBay. There's a lot of junk there, too. Just have to be a careful shopper... coveat emptor and all that. I've actually bought some pretty nice coins and found some decent bargains on eBay.
I have had very few unpleasant experiences on ebay...but I know what to look for and I SEE all the fraud there...I just take very few chances. To date, as a far as I know, I have never been ripped off and never had a problem that wasnt easily resolved when two people act like rational adults, thank god I have never had to deal with some of those children I see who are so wuick to go off. People are nice in general and I am nice back. I have bought great coins there...and met great people. Its a great tool. Sellers always show respect, if they dont, I dont deal. I dont buy anything that might even remotely look fishy or buy from sellers whose convoluted write-up is 5 pages long with a pic of the coin the size of my thumbnail. Or the 'I dont know much about coins but.... but you are going to sell them....no. You know all the scams and idiots...I dont need a guy linking me to all the new idiots using all the old tricks everyday... I keep lists of known fake dealers and keep it updated I study the fakes lists. If a problem comes up I do not go off on people. Knee jerk, rude, sarcastic, etc...that just makes things worse, stay off ebay if this is you. I have never had a bad mark or given one...or in the end ever WANTED to give one. I have a nice group of favorite sellers, seldom do I add to it but if I take a rare chance on a new seller, it might grow and does. I dont look for a GREAT DEAL...you they are there, or they are very rare and more likely you will buy a GREAT fake. I buy from people with liberal return policies. OFten times just by the persons tone in the listing you can tell what type of person they are. I see fake coins every day on ebay...I used to try to crusade against them...now I just pass them by, the best thing I can do is not give them business, I wont spend my life patroling ebay and running to forums to report the newest fraud I find...that would be 5 times a day!!
oh...I should say I had one bad experience. A guy selling Anna's didnt send me the coin pictured and didnt mention that he was selling from a bunch that he had. The one he sent me was of a lower grade than the one pictured. I wrote him saying I want the one pictured, he said he couldnt do that but would send me one just like it...and said to keep the one he already sent. The one he sent was good so I moved on and never delt with him again. Also I had a guy send me a very nice ancient Greek coin instead of the very nice Roman one I bought...honest mistake. I sent the Greek one back, he sent the Roman and an extra gift for my troubles...
If you know coins (60 years into them) you can do better on ebay then at a coin store or coin show. I have done very well on ebay. It's like having 1000 dealers 20" in front of you..I think I am very coin smart. It's fun waiting till 2 second's to bid.
Only one bad experience on ebay and that was the sellers fault. If he would have been polite things might have worked out differently. When I asked to return it - he blasted me with a lot of 4 letter words. I filed a paypal dispute( and lost) - he thought he was slick by saying in his reply to paypal that I could not leave him a negative. I then got to give him a negative - it was worth the price of the coin(and my negative) just to see him whine in the emails. The problem I have with ebay is that I am not finding what I want here of lately. Or if I do see something the auction seems to go off the scale as far as prices go.
Most of my experiences have been positive. My advice for Ebay...if you are buying expensive coins, buy certified coins (PCGS, ANACS, NCG, and ICG). If you see a deal that is too good to be true, it usually is.
We have all seen the good and bad on Ebay, great sellers and outright shysters. With enough studying, you can pick some real cherries, if your quick and hasty, you can get lemons, it all comes down to ask advise, know what your buying, study the seller, know what your buying, and ask advise And I'll repeat it again, buy the book before the coin
I've had pretty good luck on ebay, thanks in no small part to them members on this forum. I did a lot of research about ebay here before I started buying and I think it has saved me a lot of grief. A few coins I have bought weren't as nice as they looked, but I usuall bid with that in mind. Most of the coins I have bought on ebay are nicer in hand than pics. I was buying seated dimes last summer for a while and learned what to look for in fuzzy pics that were a good indicator as to grade. that helped me pic up a few bargains. I don't have many coin shops or shows close by so for me ebay is a great option. That being said, when looking for ms morgans for my collection, I do prefer to buy from shows or local dealers. I would like to thank the coin talk members for all the help I have recieved here, it has been invaluable.:hug:
